NEW HAMPSHIRE PRACTICE NOTES The key to winning this race will be to have a car that can run consistent fast laps. The cars that do not lose speed on long runs will be up front. Usually there are not many cautions in this race. Use the 10-lap averages below to analyze which drivers you want instead of the fastest 1 lap times. Some cars had problems with flat tires. It was not a result of the Goodyear tires, but the teams running too low of pressure in the tires. Hopefully teams learned their lesson in practice. Teams with multiple wins may take a chance at running low tire pressure and having a flat tire during the race. These drivers are already locked into the Chase, so they have less to lose. Teams that need a win may be less likely to take a chance at having a flat tire. JOEY LOGANO – Thought he broke his wrist in Friday’s wreck. X-rays showed that he has a bad sprain. He will NOT be in a back-up car, but will be in pain throughout the race. KEVIN HARVICK – His crew chief said his car was horrible during qualifying, but Kevin was able to drive the wheels off it to a 12th place qualifying position. They worked on the car and now feel as though it is a top 5 car. Had the fastest car on 15-lap average. ARIC ALMIROLA – Crashed his car in practice. He will start at the back, but be scored from the 19th position in Fantasy Live. JEFF GORDON – The 24 team said that they are not worried about where they finish each race before the Chase begins. They are only worried about winning. They will take every chance to get Jeff into Victory Lane each week. JEFF BURTON – Has 4 wins at New Hampshire including one race where he led all 301 laps. He tested here and he likes his car this week. Do not worry about his starting position. BRAD KESELOWSKI – He is running both races this weekend (Nationwide and Sprint Cup). He said he learned a lot in his Nationwide car because both series are running the same tire this weekend. He will be one of the drivers to beat Sunday. JIMMIE JOHNSON – Said his car is very good on the long run, be he thinks he needs more speed to catch up with Keselowski. He thinks Chad Knaus can fix him up during the race, but most teams think Keselowski is the driver to beat this week. TONY STEWART: Had this race won last year but ran out of gas on lap 300. Since there are 301 laps in the race he finished outside the top-10. His car is was tight in practice. My philosophy with Smoke is… When he qualifies up front, he usually finishes up front. Stewart starts on the 2nd row Sunday. He ran the entire practice on old tires, so it is hard to tell what he has. CLINT BOWYER: Tested here last week. He said he does not have the fastest car, but during the test he found out how to save his tires without losing much speed. He thinks he can gain ground on long runs. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – Starts 28th on Sunday. The No. 88 plans on gambling with tires early in the race to make up track position. Not happy with his car. Said the car hits the splitter on the track and to tight in the corners. Tight = Slow . He put 4 fresh tires on at the end of practice to jump up the speed chart. KYLE BUSCH – Was not happy with his car in the first practice, but found some speed in Happy hour. He has a fast car, but the speed falls off on long runs. Will start on the pole. AUSTIN DILLON – Spent most of the Happy Hour practice following Ryan Newman. He was trying to learn from the multiple New Hampshire race winning. He said he did learn some and he is close to being where they need to be. KYLE LARSON – Ran the second-most laps in Happy Hour. He is starting to figure out this race track. He should be the #1 Yahoo! Group C driver, but he has finished the last 3 races outside the top-25. JAMIE MCMURRAY – Starts 5th on Sunday. Tested here and ran the most laps. Car gets loose the longer the run is. Should be a top-15 car this week. BRIAN VICKERS – He is still searching for speed. Had the 25th fastest lap and car got slower as the laps increased. He probably will not follow up his victory here last year with another win this year. CARL EDWARDS: Put fresh tires on the car at the end of practice and he ran the 7th fastest lap. His car was not very good on long runs. RFR has not been good this season on these types of tracks, but Edwards should be able to find his way to the top 10 Sunday. FASTEST 10-LAP AVERAGES 1 2 Brad Keselowski 131.783 2 42 Kyle Larson 131.569 3 4 Kevin Harvick 131.506 4 48 Jimmie Johnson 131.266 5 11 Denny Hamlin 131.239 6 1 Jamie McMurray 131.226 7 24 Jeff Gordon 131.160 8 18 Kyle Busch 131.133 9 27 Paul Menard 131.119 10 20 Matt Kenseth 131.078 11 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 131.067 12 5 Kasey Kahne 131.058 13 15 Clint Bowyer 131.045 14 99 Carl Edwards 130.946 15 55 Brian Vickers 130.849 16 66 Jeff Burton 130.822 17 51 Justin Allgaier 130.819 18 22 Joey Logano 130.804 19 78 Martin Truex Jr. 130.576 20 31 Ryan Newman 130.424 21 41 Kurt Busch 130.216 22 14 Tony Stewart 129.771 23 34 David Ragan 129.642 24 40 Landon Cassill 129.299 25 10 Danica Patrick 129.165 26 7 Michael Annett 128.732 27 38 David Gilliland 128.452 28 32 Eddie MacDonald 126.242 29 23 Alex Bowman 126.041
Posted on: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 19:05:11 +0000
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